I learnt about cycling...a little to late

[LukeHawk]

When I got my tank, I (along with a few others I'm sure), was very ignorent to cycling the tank. My fish supplier didnt say anything to me, so I'll just ignore the info on the internet - Thats what I stupidly thought anyway. Now, after about a year and a lot if internet research, I decided to check my levels. Amazingly, it seems like my levels are fine I'm assuming its because i've had the tank for a long time and there have been fish in it.

My test kit doesn't seem to indicate ammonia levels, however. My Nitrite level is on 0, and my Nitrate level is somewhere near 10 I'm guessing. (hard to differentiate between the colours on the test thing).

Is it safe to assume that my Ammonia level is in fact on 0?

 

[homebunnyj]

If everything is going fine, I'd say yes. However, you do need to pick up an ammonia test to have on hand. Whenever anything goes awry (and it will at some point or other) that's the first thing you want to test.

 

[Matt Nace]

It would depend on how many fish are in there, your cleaning habits, filters. If your tank is clean and not overstocked then they probebly are 0.

In established tanks, there is a chance to have an ammoinia problem. Here is a few things that I find is common.

1. You clean your filter too well. Some filters are made to hold the good bacteria seperate from the filter floss, usually after. These filters are usually the better ones IMO. Others dont allow you to keep media after the floss . So sometimes we make the mistake of cleaning it real well and if there is not a seperate media to house the bacteria..it can be lost for a while.

2. The fish load(and waste) is more than the tank can handle. Sometimes the fish get bigger or we add more than the tank can handle or our water changes and vaccuming of the gravel becomes not enough. This can cause an ammonia problem as the bacteria can no longer keep up and can not break down the ammonia--> NitrIte-->nitrAte fast enough. This is where my first dual bio wheel purchase came from for me many years ago. I used to overstock and my filters just could not hold enough media.

 

[MissFishy]

Your tank likely cycled by itself when you first got it. As stated above, by doing big cleanings or such you can send your tank into a "mini cycle" in which you'll need to have test kits on hand.

 

[LukeHawk]

I only have about 6 fish in a 20g tank, so its definitely not over stocked, haha. Need some more.

I do about a 50% change every 3 weeks. Is that fine?

 

[misterking]

Just looking at the stocking on your sig, it might be worth bumping up your tetra shoals if you want more fish, they like to be in shoals of 6 or more. Also, this pleco - any way you could take a picture of it, or describe its colours/patterning? Could end up growing to a huge size if it's one of the common types, or one of the panaques.

In terms of your water changing, lots of people will say different things. Some will say 10/20% each week, some will say every two weeks. If it's working for you and your ammonia/nitrate/nitrite levels are good, and your fish healthy, you haven't got much to be worrying about. It may be worth doing maybe 10% per week when you start adding more fish though to prevent your levels from spiking, especially ammonia.

 

[sombunya]

In terms of your water changing, lots of people will say different things.

A 20 gallon tank is easy. 25% change is one 5 gallon bucket. Why not 25% every week?

 

[LukeHawk]

Just looking at the stocking on your sig, it might be worth bumping up your tetra shoals if you want more fish, they like to be in shoals of 6 or more. Also, this pleco - any way you could take a picture of it, or describe its colours/patterning? Could end up growing to a huge size if it's one of the common types, or one of the panaques.

For some reason, the last two times I tried to add more Neons to my tank, they ended up...not living very long. It may be because my Silver Dollar is very aggressive, especially when it comes to food. He doesn't even let any plants survive in my tank, just eats them. All the other fish, besides the pleco, I got before I introduced the Silver Dollar into the tank.

My pleco is growing quite fast, I noticed the other day when I went to the pet shop and saw the other pleco's that mine really has grown a bit. He's about 10cm now...not sure what that is in inches
I tried looking online for ones that looked like him, but none that I see seem to perfectly match his shape and colour. He's more then likely a common pleco, but I'm not sure

I'll try get a pic, but he is very camouflaged, especially when he's on the driftwood.

 

[MissFishy]

Neons and cardinals these days are not good buys. They are massively inbred and not very hardy fish. I usually recommend people stay away from them in general.

 

[bmoraski]

i had a common pleco in my sons 10gal for about 6 to 8 months and i had to take him out he got HUGE.( hes in 550 gal pond at work now ).
i have one in my 20gal and i know hell be joining the other one in the pond lol.
im going to get some otos but everytime im at the fish place they dont have any.
when i got the pleco for my 20gal at least the LFS person told me they get huge. They never told my wife when they got the one for my sons 10gal, go figure.
good luck
ps
since i took my sons pleco out there is algae builing up on decorations, i never had algae in there with the pleco
just thought id pass that on

 

[LukeHawk]

But they're so pretty! haha

Heres a pic of my pleco: (Bad quality pic I know)

I was wrong with my previous estimation. He seems to be about 7cm long at the moment, but still growing im sure. Maybe somebody could identify his type as well? Only his underbelly is that white-ish colour, the rest is a much darker brown with spots.

 

[bmoraski]

i agree they look awsome
but there best suited for large tanks.
sorry i cant help identify but someone here will

 

[MissFishy]

I don't get the appeal of neons/cardinals. Every new fish owner seems drawn to them like magnets (that's why they're so massively inbred, everyone wants them!). I guess they seem too common to me to be attractive, I like having something different in my tanks to look at.

It looks like a common pleco to me, picture is hard to tell though. I too have a pleco that's around 12 inches long. They're mean at that size!